JP2000150098A - Rotary connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rotary connector having a small length of a plurality of flat cables and assuring easiness in the assembling property. SOLUTION: A moving body 4 is arranged rotatably in a cable accommodation chamber 3 forward between an outer cylinder part 1a and an inner cylinder part 2a, and forms an outer cable space 3a and inner cable space 3b inside the chamber 3 near the periphery and the center, respectively, and is furnished with a single cable passage 20 communicating from the outer cable space 3a to the inner cable space 3b. A first 9 and a second flat cable 10 are wound round within the outer cable space 3a and introduced from the cable passage 20 to the inner cable space 3b, and in the position of the cable passage 20, the winding direction of the flat cables 9 and 10 is inverted, and the cables inverted 9 and 10 are wound within the inner cable space 3b.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rotary connector in which a plurality of flat cables are housed in a cable housing formed between a fixed housing and a movable housing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, there is known a rotary connector which is incorporated in a steering device of an automobile and is used as an electric connection means of an air bag system or the like. There are two types of rotary connectors: the flat cable is wound in a spiral shape and stored, while the reverse connector is stored in the middle of the cable. There is an advantage that can be shortened. In addition, in this reversing type rotary connector, a type in which the number of flat cables is two and corresponding to multi-circuits has been proposed. Such a conventional rotary connector is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-116672. Some have been disclosed.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the conventional rotary connector. This rotary connector has a stationary housing (outer housing) 1 having a cylindrical outer cylinder 1a formed therein and a movable inner housing 2a having a cylindrical inner cylinder 2a rotatably mounted on the fixed housing 1. And a side housing (inner housing) 2. The outer tube portion 1a and the inner tube portion 2
a is arranged coaxially, and an annular cable storage chamber 3 is formed between the outer cylindrical portion 1a and the inner cylindrical portion 2a. A moving body 4 is rotatably arranged in the cable storage chamber 3. The moving body 4 includes a ring-shaped rotating plate 5 and a plurality of rotatably supported rotatable members spaced from the rotating plate 5. And a roller 6. The movable body 4 forms an outer cable space 3a and an inner cable space 3b on the outer peripheral side and the inner peripheral side in the cable storage chamber 3, respectively. Cable passage 7, which communicates between the cable and the inner peripheral side cable space 3b,
8 are provided at two positions substantially opposite by 180 degrees. Each of the cable passages 7 and 8 is an opening through which first and second flat cables 9 and 10 to be described later are inverted in a U shape and passed therethrough.

[0004] First and second flat cables 9 and 10
Has a band-like body formed by extending a plurality of conductors made of copper or the like on one side of a base film made of an insulating tape such as PET, and is accommodated in the cable accommodation room 3. That is, the outer ends (one end) of the first and second flat cables 9 and 10 are connected to a fixed-side joint portion 11 fixed to the outer cylindrical portion 1a. It is wound around the outer circumferential cable space 3a in the turning direction. The first and second flat cables 9 and 10 wound around the outer cable space 3a are guided to the inner cable space 3b through separate cable passages 7 and 8, respectively. The winding direction of each of the flat cables 9 and 10 is inverted in a U-shape at the position of.
Each of the inverted flat cables 9 and 10 is wound around the inner circumferential cable space 3b in a winding direction opposite to that of the outer circumferential cable space 3a. Each inner end (the other end) is connected to a movable joint 12 fixed to the inner cylinder 2a.

When this rotary connector is applied to, for example, supplying current to an airbag system, the fixed housing 1 is fixed to the stator member side of the steering device, and the movable housing 2 is fixed to the rotor member of the steering device. The fixed joint 11 of the outer cylinder 1a is connected to an external connector (not shown) of the vehicle body, and the movable joint 12 of the inner cylinder 2a is connected to an external connector (not shown) of the handle. Connected to.

In the above configuration, when the movable housing 2 rotates in the counterclockwise direction (the direction of arrow a in FIG. 5), the flat cables 9 and 10 occupy the inner circumferential cable space 3b.
Is the sending direction to the outer peripheral side cable space 3a.
Since the outer cable space 3a is in the winding direction of the flat cables 9 and 10, the flat cables 9 and 10 in the inner cable space 3b are sent out to the outer cable space 3a, and the fed flat cable 9 , 10 are wound around the outer cable space 3a while being inverted in a U-shape at the positions of the cable passages (openings) 7, 8, and the flat cables 9, 10 are wound around the outer cable space 3a. The flat cable 9,
The reversing parts 9a and 10a of 10 also move counterclockwise,
Following this, the movable body 4 also rotates in the counterclockwise direction, thereby allowing the movable side housing 2 to rotate.

When the movable housing 2 rotates clockwise (in the direction of the arrow b in FIG. 5), the inner peripheral cable space 3 is rotated.
b is the direction in which the flat cables 9 and 10 are wound, but the outer cable space 3a is in the direction in which the flat cables 9 and 10 are sent out, so that the flat cables 9 and 10 in the outer cable space 3a are on the inner circumferential side. The flat cables 9, 10 sent out to the cable space 3 b side are wound around the inner peripheral cable space 3 b while being inverted in a U-shape at the positions of the cable passages 7, 8, and the flat cable 9, , 10 are sent out from the outer peripheral side cable space 3a, the reversing portions 9a, 10a of the flat cables 9, 10 also move clockwise. The rotation of the side housing 2 is allowed.

That is, depending on the rotation direction of the movable housing 2, the flat cable 9,
10 and the flat cable 9 in the outer peripheral cable space 3a,
10 is in the winding direction, the other is in the unwinding direction, and the moving body 4 is connected to the flat cable 9,
While allowing the freely changing of the reversing portions 9a, 10a of the 10 and restricting the radial movement of the flat cables 9, 10 except for the reversing portions 9a, 10a, the flat cable 9, 10 is accommodated while being accommodated. The housing 2 rotates smoothly.

A similar technique relating to this rotary connector is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-189199.

[0010]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional rotary connector, cable passages 7, 8 are provided at two positions of the moving body 4, and these cable passages 7, 8 are provided.
Each of the flat cables 9 and 10 is inverted in a U-shape. Therefore, even when the second flat cable 10 is completely sent out from the inner peripheral side cable space 3b, the first flat cable 9 needs to be set to a state of being wound around the inner peripheral side cable space 3b by approximately a half turn. is there. That is, the first flat cable 9 needs to be longer than the second flat cable 10 by the circumferential distance of the two cable passages 7 and 8 (the dimension indicated by A in FIG. 5). Here, as a solution, it is conceivable to use two movable joint portions 12 of the inner cylindrical portion 2a. However, when the movable joint portion 12 is provided at two locations, the number of parts increases, and the flat cables 9 and 10 increase. Cannot be adopted because of the inconvenience of assembling the device and connection with an external connector.

Further, in the process of assembling the two flat cables 9, 10, it is necessary to accommodate the moving cables 4 in different cable paths 7, 8 so as to be inverted in a U-shape. The assembly of 10 was troublesome.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and provides a rotary connector which can reduce the required length of a plurality of flat cables as much as possible and which has good assemblability of flat cables. The purpose is to do.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an outer housing having an outer cylinder, an inner housing rotatably mounted on the outer housing and having an inner cylinder.
A cable storage chamber formed between the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder, and rotatably disposed in the cable storage;
Movement in which an outer peripheral side cable space and an inner peripheral side cable space are respectively formed on an outer peripheral side and an inner peripheral side in the cable storage room, and a cable passage communicating the outer peripheral side cable space and the inner peripheral side cable space is provided. And one end of each of the plurality of flat cables is connected to the outer cylinder portion side, and the plurality of flat cables are wound around the outer peripheral side cable space, and the wound plurality of flat cables are passed through the cable passage. The winding direction of the plurality of flat cables is reversed at the position of the cable passage while being guided to the inner peripheral cable chamber, and the reversed flat cables are wound around the inner peripheral cable space. The other end of each of the plurality of flat cables is connected to the inner cylinder portion side, and the cable passage of the moving body is provided only at one place. Only, it is characterized in that the freely inverting the plurality of flat cables are passed through the same said cable passage.

In this rotary connector, since the plurality of flat cables are inverted in the common cable path, it is not necessary to set any of the plurality of flat cables to be longer, and in the process of assembling the flat cables, A plurality of flat cables may be arranged in the same cable passage.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the rotary connector according to the first aspect, wherein the length of the plurality of flat cables is such that the reversing portion is relatively smaller than the flat cable having the reversing portion relatively outside. The flat cable on the inside is set short.

In this rotary connector, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention, in addition to the flat cable having the reversing portion inside, the flat cable having the reversing portion has a smaller winding diameter in the cable space on the outer peripheral side than the cable having the reversing portion outside. In a state where the flat cable is wound around the outer-side cable space by shortening the overall length compared to the case where the inverted portion is outside, multiple flat cables may interfere with the inverted portion. And rotation of the inner cylinder is allowed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the rotary connector according to the second aspect, the plurality of flat cables are almost wound around the outer peripheral side cable space and are not wound around the inner peripheral side cable space. At the winding position, the length is set so that the inverted portions of the flat cables are substantially in a state of being close to each other.

In this rotary connector, in addition to the effect of the second aspect of the present invention, the distance between the reversing portions of the plurality of flat cables is most determined when the plurality of flat cables are almost wound around the outer cable space. When the flat cables are almost wound around the inner cable space, they become the largest when multiple flat cables are wound around the inner cable space. Since they are set to be in the proximity state, the length of the plurality of flat cables is set to the required minimum.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a rotary connector according to an embodiment of the present invention at a neutral position, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the rotary connector at an extreme end position in a counterclockwise direction, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view at an end position and an explanatory view of a main part of the rotary connector of FIG. 4.

1 to 4, in this embodiment, the same components as those of the conventional example are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. Only different configurations will be described. That is,
Only one cable passage (opening) 20 is provided in the moving body 4.
Are provided, and the first and second flat cables 9 and 10 are provided.
Both pass through the one cable passage 20, and the winding directions here are both reversed in a U-shape.

The entire length of the second flat cable 10 having the inverted portion 10a inside is shorter than that of the first flat cable 9 having the inverted portion 9a outside. The first and second flat cables 9 and 10 are almost wound around the outer cable space 3a and are not wound around the inner cable space 3b and are located at the extreme end positions in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 9,10
Are set to a length dimension such that the inverting portions 9a and 10a are substantially close to each other.

In the above configuration, when the movable side housing (inner housing) 2 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction at the neutral position in FIG. 1, the inner peripheral side cable space 3b becomes the outer peripheral side cable space of the flat cables 9 and 10. Although the direction of sending out the flat cables 9 and 10 to the outer peripheral cable space 3a is the winding direction of the flat cables 9 and 10 for the outer cable space 3a,
0 is sent out to the outer peripheral side cable space 3a side, and the sent out flat cables 9, 10 are wound around the outer peripheral side cable space 3a while being inverted in a U-shape at the position of one cable passage 20, and flattened. Cable 9,10
Is wound around the outer peripheral side cable space 3a, the reversing portions 9a and 10a of the flat cables 9 and 10 also move counterclockwise, and the moving body 4 rotates counterclockwise following the movement. The rotation of the movable housing 2 is allowed. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, most of the first and second flat cables 9 and 10 are wound around the outer peripheral side cable space 3a at the most counterclockwise position of the rotary connector.

When the movable housing 2 is rotated clockwise in the neutral position shown in FIG. 1, the inner cable space 3b is in the winding direction of the flat cables 9 and 10, but the outer cable space is not wound. 3a, the flat cables 9, 10 in the outer cable space 3a are sent out to the inner cable space 3b side since the flat cable 9, 10 is sent out direction. At the position of the cable passage 20, the flat cables 9, 10 are wound around the inner peripheral cable space 3 b while being inverted in a U-shape, and the flat cables 9, 10 are sent out from the outer peripheral cable space 3 a. 9a and 10a also move in a clockwise direction. Rotation of the housing 2 is allowed.
Then, as shown in FIG. 3, most of the first and second flat cables 9, 10 are wound around the inner peripheral cable space 3b at the clockwise extreme end position of the rotary connector.

First and second flat cables 9 and 10
Is inverted in a U-shape in one common cable passage 20, so that it is not necessary to set any of the first and second flat cables 9, 10 to be longer, and the first flat cable 9 The required length can be made shorter than before. In the process of assembling the first and second flat cables 9, 10, the first and second flat cables 9, 10 may be arranged in the same cable passage 20, so that the first and second flat cables 9, 10 are arranged. , 10 can be assembled at the same time, and the assembling property is good.

In the rotation operation of the rotary connector, as shown in detail in FIG. 4, the second flat cable 10 having the inverted portion 10a inside is the first flat cable 10 having the inverted portion 9a outside. In the outer peripheral side cable space 3a, the inner peripheral winding state is smaller in the winding diameter than in the outer peripheral side cable space 3a. Therefore, assuming that the winding radius of the first flat cable 9 is R1, the winding radius of the second flat cable 10 is (R1−t), where t is the thickness of the flat cables 9, 10. The total length required for winding is shorter than that of the flat cable 9. Therefore, the common cable path 20
When the first and second flat cables 9 and 10 are set to the same length when the first and second flat cables 9 and 10 are set to have the same length, the first and second flat cables 9 and 10 rotate to the extreme end position in the counterclockwise direction in FIG.
And the reversing portions 9a, 1 of the second flat cables 9, 10
0a interferes with each other, causing problems such as the rotation of the movable side housing 2 not being smooth and the flat cables 9 and 10 being damaged, or effectively utilizing the entire lengths of the first and second flat cables 9 and 10. Can not do it.

However, in the present embodiment, since the second flat cable 10 is set shorter than the first flat cable 9, the first and second flat cables 9,
Even at a clockwise extreme position where the cable 10 is wound around the outer peripheral cable space 3a, the first and second flat cables 9, 10 do not interfere with the reversing portions 9a, 10a, and the rotation of the movable housing 2 is prevented. The rotation of the movable side housing 2 is allowed smoothly, and there is no problem such as the first and second flat cables 9 and 10 being damaged by interference.

Further, the distance between the reversing portions 9a and 10a of the first and second flat cables 9 and 10 is such that the first and second flat cables 9 and 10 are wound around the outer peripheral side cable space 3a. 2, the first and second flat cables 9,
10 is the largest at the extreme end position in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 3 where almost 10 is wound around the inner peripheral side cable space 3b. That is, the first
And the reversing portions 9a, 1 of the second flat cables 9, 10
By varying the distance between the outer cable spaces 0a, the difference in length required for winding the flat cables 9 and 10 between the outer cable space 3a and the inner cable space 3b is absorbed.

In this embodiment, the first and second flat cables 9 and 10 are wound around the outer peripheral side cable space 3a at the most counterclockwise positions in FIG. Since the reversing portions 9a and 10a of the flat cables 9 and 10 are set to be in a substantially close state, the lengths of the first and second flat cables 9 and 10 can be set to the minimum necessary. This allows
Inverting portions 9a and 10a at the extreme end positions in the counterclockwise direction in FIG.
Since the distance between them can be minimized, the width of the cable passage 20 of the moving body 4 can be reduced, the looseness of the moving body 4 can be reduced, and the cable restricting function of the moving body 4 can be reduced. Is improved.

According to the above embodiment, the case where the number of flat cables is two is shown, but the present invention can be similarly applied to the case where there are three or more flat cables. In this case, the length dimension of the three or more flat cables is such that a flat cable whose inversion portion is relatively inside is shorter than a flat cable whose U-shaped inversion portion is relatively outside. In addition, three or more flat cables are almost wound around the outer peripheral cable space, and at the winding position where the flat cables are not wound around the inner peripheral cable space, the inverted portions of the flat cables become substantially close to each other. Preferably, it is set to the size. further,
The fixed side housing as the outer housing is the fixed side,
Although the case where the movable housing as the inner housing is the rotating side is shown, the outer housing may be the rotating side and the inner housing may be the fixed side.

[0031]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the cable passage of the moving body is provided only at one place, and a plurality of flat cables are passed through the same cable passage so that the flat cable can be inverted. Because multiple flat cables are reversed in a common cable path, there is no need to set one of the lengths of multiple flat cables longer, and multiple flat cables are connected to the same cable during the flat cable assembly process. It is sufficient if the flat cables are arranged in the passage. As a result, the required length of the plurality of flat cables can be reduced, and the assemblability of the flat cables can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the rotary connector according to the first aspect, wherein the length of the plurality of flat cables is such that the inversion portion is relatively smaller than the flat cable in which the inversion portion is relatively outside. Since the flat cable on the inner side is set short, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1, the flat cable with the inverted portion on the inside has a smaller winding diameter in the cable space on the outer peripheral side than the one with the inverted portion on the outside. The inner circumference is wound, and the overall length is shorter than that with the inverted portion outside, so that even when multiple flat cables are almost wound around the outer cable space, multiple flat cables interfere at the inverted portion The rotation of the inner cylinder portion is allowed without causing the rotation, and there is an effect that smooth rotation can be performed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the rotary connector according to the second aspect, wherein the plurality of flat cables are almost wound around the outer cable space and are not wound around the inner cable space. At the turn position, the length dimension is set so that the inverted portions of the flat cables are substantially close to each other. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 2, the distance between the inverted portions of the plurality of flat cables is plural. Is the smallest when the flat cable is almost wound around the outer cable space, the largest when multiple flat cables are almost wound around the inner cable space,
When multiple flat cables are almost wound around the outer cable space, the inverted parts of each flat cable are set so that they are in close proximity, so the length of multiple flat cables is set to the minimum required. can do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view at a neutral position of a rotary connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the rotary connector at an extreme end position in a counterclockwise direction.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the rotary connector at a clockwise end position.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a main part of the rotary connector.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a conventional rotary connector.

[Description of Signs] 1 Fixed-side housing (outer housing) 1a Outer cylinder 2 Movable housing (inner housing) 2a Inner cylinder 3 Cable storage room 3a Outer-peripheral cable space 3b Inner-peripheral cable space 4 Moving body 9 First Flat cable 9a reversing part 10 second flat cable 10a reversing part 20 cable passage (opening)

Claims (3)

[Claims] An outer housing having an outer cylindrical portion, a cable rotatably mounted on the outer housing and having an inner cylindrical portion, and a cable formed between the outer cylindrical portion and the inner cylindrical portion. A storage chamber, rotatably disposed in the cable storage chamber, and forming an outer cable space and an inner cable space on an outer peripheral side and an inner peripheral side of the cable storage chamber, respectively; A moving body provided with a cable passage communicating with the inner peripheral cable space, each end of a plurality of flat cables is connected to the outer cylinder portion side, and the plurality of flat cables are wound around the outer peripheral cable space. And guiding the wound plurality of flat cables from the cable passage to the inner peripheral side cable chamber and winding the plurality of flat cables at the position of the cable passage. In a rotating connector, the direction is reversed, and the plurality of inverted flat cables are wound around the inner peripheral cable space, and the other ends of the wound plurality of flat cables are connected to the inner cylinder portion side. A rotary connector, wherein the cable passage of the moving body is provided only at one place, and the plurality of flat cables are passed through the same cable passage so that the flat cable can be inverted. 2. The rotary connector according to claim 1, wherein a length dimension of the plurality of flat cables is such that the inversion portion is relatively inner than a flat cable in which the inversion portion is relatively outer. Rotary connector characterized by a short setting. 3. The rotary connector according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of flat cables are almost wound around the outer peripheral side cable space, and each of the plurality of flat cables is wound around the inner peripheral side cable space. A rotary connector having a length dimension set so that inverted portions of a flat cable are substantially in a state of being close to each other.